Matchday Thread Inverness CT -V- Partick Thistle

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Just listened to Richie - sorry that is incredulous. What must the players on the bench think if half fit individuals are being preferred. That should have been the other way around !! 

[+bughtmaster]

A season definer ? only in as much as we may not make the top six !

[Ronaldo]

I will never agree more with a post, I was absolutely gobsmacked listening to that interview

[Yngwie]

4 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

I was absolutely gobsmacked listening to that interview

I particularly liked the challenging questions, the opening one was a belter which really got to the crux of the fans' concerns....

[+Gringo]

If RF was delighted with a home point then something is very wrong.

[bdu98196]

Lack of fight and too often 2nd to the ball, got criticised for suggesting this before but I don't see us having a team of battlers and fighters out there where those around us do and being regular struggles at that end of the table know how to scrape and fight to stay up.

It may have been a clean sheet but we were lucky and Partick despite having chances were poor in front of goal - we are not getting better at defending and instead of bringing in average players we need an experienced defensive minded coach to assist.

The tactics are dross and predictable. Long hopeless balls, a keeper who can't pass and has awful distribution. We play strikers who can't compete in the air or have the physical attributes to hold up the ball or give an out when under pressure. Our wingers don't run the line or press on, the play or cut inside too often and for mulraney with his pace he can drop back to pick up the ball to run at defenders no point him standing off the defender and expecting to win high balls.

On this display we are on an express route to relegation, maybe sickness was a reason but seems we always have an excuse but never a solution. Can try dress this game up with positives but reality is we were dross all over the park and 2nd best side by a margin and that's without even considering the lack of entertainment. 

 

[+DoofersDad]

We've only won 3 games all season and yet remarkably we are only 6 points off 5th place!  Clearly we have some problems and unless we start winning soon then we could become adrift at the bottom, but we are not at the "must win" stage yet.  

Richie seemed very pleased with the draw and I think he is right to take some positives from the game.  We did generally look a little more solid at the back and managed a rare clean sheet.  The draw took us a point closer to Hamilton, Motherwell and Dundee and improved our points per game ratio.  In Cole, Mulraney and Doran we demonstrated that we have got creative players who are capable of creating chances - and before Mulraney and Doran came on, Tremarco could have had a hat-trick!

Having said that, there were undoubtedly more negatives than positives.  I was actually quite shocked to hear the manager say that Warren and Tansey were up last night with a vomiting bug.  If so, why on earth were they playing?  They should have been resting up at home and not risking passing a virus to their team mates.  Playing them will also have taken a lot out of them and they may now be struggling for fitness for Tuesday's vital game.  Draper could have dropped back to centre back with Vigurs and Doran starting instead.  Can't have done their confidence much good being benched in favour of a couple of invalids.

I don't know if Doumbouye was also not well but that was far and away the poorest I have seen him play.  With competition for places quite hot, he should have been really fired up to keep his place but he looked disinterested and his control of the ball was poor.  Unless he was also unwell he may be out of the side for a while.

Anier had a chance to shine but unfortunately failed to impress.  He seems unwilling to head the long balls to him and instead backs into defenders in an attempt to let the ball drop and turn the defender.  It's a foul every time.  He seemed to work reasonably hard but rarely really made himself available.  The one time he did he was harshly adjudged to have fouled a defender.  He certainly would be worth another start but rather than be a target man, he needs to play off someone who can win the ball better.

Polworth was another who disappointed.  He also seemed rather lacklustre today and gave the ball away rather too much.  He had a couple of decent chances and really should have scored when put in with a cute pass from Draper.  I'm surprised Cole was taken off rather than him because I thought Cole, while not at his best, had a reasonable game. In my view, Doran should have started and if only he could get a confidence boost with a goal he could reinvigorate us as an attacking force.

Mulraney did his usual trick of exciting us only to then disappoint us immediately after.  He does some great work on the wing to skin defenders but more often than not completely wastes the opportunity he has created.

So it's a bit of a mixed bag.  I do believe we have the players who can comfortably lift us clear of the relegation zone by the end of the season, but we need players who are fit and well and we need them to be hungrier for the ball than they were today.  We need players to take responsibility for driving into the danger areas and looking to shoot.  We need players scoring and feeding off the confidence that brings.  At the moment we look disjointed going forward and that is perhaps due more  to the manager than the players. There needs to be a shake up of tactics as we seem to be playing to our weaknesses rather than our strengths.

It's not all doom and gloom yet, but we certainly do need to get back to winning ways soon.  There may have been legitimate excuses for today's lack lustre performance, but the bottom line is that if we play like that for the rest of the season, we will be in the Championship next season.

[Caley Mad In Berks]

I think we all knew that appointing Foran was a risk, but I also know that the financial constraints we work under probably made him the only viable option at the time.   But why a 3 year contract? Surely a 1 year rolling contract would have been more sensible.  And now we are seeing that his inexperience is a real problem for us.  These interviews he gives are cringeworthy.  Can he really be that naive?  He doesn't look the part, sound the part, or act the part of someone who knows what they are doing.  I fear the worst, and can only hope that I am wrong.

[PerfICT]

I'm trying to find a positive in RF's comments, so bear with me:

If accurate, he was faced with something of a crisis this morning, with a series of half-fit guys + some suffering from a sickness bug. It serms his solution in advance of the game was (a) to cover up these issues (good plan) and (b) to hike the importance of the game to "must win", with the idea of galvanising a fighting performance from the players (always dangerous).

The season has just been a series of frustrations - we've not been fortunate with injuries, which has highlighted our lack of depth. RF has continually fiddled with formation and personnel, with some surprise choices week after week. Much of this is enforced, but some smacks of poor judgement from an inexperienced manager.

The frustration is that this collection of players is not relegation material, but the team is right now. It is the manager's respinsibility to mould players into a team and Richie needs to learn fast.

Consistant performers are:

Mackay, Tremarco, Draper (today aside)

Guys who we know can do it, but are erratic:

Fon Williams, Warren, Tansey, Doran, Polworth, Vigurs, Meekings (currently injured), Raven (just back from injury), Cole

Fringe players with potential:

King, Mulraney

Unknown quantities:

Anier, Boden, Ebbe

Not sure where Doumbouya fits!

Richie - build your team around your consistant performers, all in their best positions. Find a way to get the best out of your erratic performers: Drop those that have bad days, no favouritism. Your formation is determined by the players at your disposal. 4-4-2 didn't work today because under-fit players were selected in midfield. Why? Doran was dropped, but is coming in to form and is fully fit, so find a formation to accommodate him. If Draper and Tansey aren't fit, go with the guys that are!

Frustrating! That was a game we could have won, but were nowhere near winning because the wrong team was fielded.

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2017 by PerfICT

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Doofers Dad - was actually waiting fer yer post as you are one of the few that says it as it is - You are more depressing than any of the others, albeit sincere and trying to keep the stiff upper lip. You are probably spot on !!

"The draw took us closer to Hamilton" - and what would a win have done and another at Hamilton ?

Sorry and give me as many red dots as ya want but those comments from Foran today were totally pathetic.

[mainstander]

4 hours ago, CaleyD said:

 

Wait a minute! Is there not miles of blue water between what manager and the clubs interviewer are saying between them - "fantastic point", "hertened by that display" and so on - and what nearly everbody on here is saying? They are so diffrent that surely somebody has got to be very wrong.

Edited January 29, 2017 by mainstander

[12th Man]

28th January, Partick Thistle

Thats our 3rd clean sheet in all competitions. 2 games unbeaten and I think that's something to build on.

Or we could just tie ourselves up in knots dwelling on all the mistakes and defeats.

 

 

 

[Renegade]

Foran's final sentence reminded me of something...

The Caley Thistle team eh?  A great bunch of lads.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Renegade

[12th Man]

8 minutes ago, mainstander said:

Wait a minute! Is there not miles of blue water between what manager and the clubs interviewer are saying between them - "fantastic point", "hertened by that display" and so on - and what nearly everbody on here is saying? They are so diffrent that surely somebody has got to be very wrong.

We had good spells in the match but also poor spells, at one stage we seemed to be sitting really deep as if we were defending an imaginary lead. We played a patient game and were threatening on the counter attack but didn't take our chances. However we did snuff out the majority of Thistles advanced whereas in the past this would have ended with a heavy defeat so it's something to build on.

Had Dorans attempt on goal gone in near the end I imagine the posts would be a bit different. 

Doran had picked up 6 votes so far, including mine, yes his shot went wide but hes still finding the spaces and getting in the right positions to take the shot, he probably just needs to put a bit more venom in the strike but keep trying all the same.

[Jagman]

5 hours ago, old caley girl said:

I realise the club are on warpath re the issues last week but totally agree with today. One steward in particular seemed to be permanently in their faces all second half and the kids he was picking on were about 13 or 14 years old. All they were doing was standing singing. The number of stewards round them kept increasing probably due to the the aforementioned stewards behaviour. 

Just seemed totally unnneccessary. 

The club are on warpath re the issues last week !

The point!, the hang along, day trippers, spoil it  for the rest.

Doubt if the kids today were involved in last weeks activities.

End of the day there is no place for hooligans in football, the authorities will not tolerate it.

The people responsible for last weeks carry on, they have been involved in ridiculous behaviour in other places.

( Hint! Have the club have been tipped off? make sure your fans behave at ALL VENUES!)

 

 

[davieB]

We have a 3 page thread on here basically saying how **** Boden is.

Doumbauya is up there with the worst strikers I've ever seen at our club. Yet Foran starts him every game. The guy can head a ball...with no accuracy, and that's it. 

And as for Tansey..I forgot the bloke was playing today until about the 80th minute. If Aberdeen, or anyone else want him, take every penny we can.

Start with Boden and Arnier against Hamilton.

Edited January 29, 2017 by davieB

[dougal]

11 hours ago, CaleyD said:

 

That is quite a staggering interview both from the interviewer and RF

Ok Foran was a great player for the club but it is now clear to see he is out of his depth as a manager, that was quite an uncomfortable watch 

We never looked like scoring yesterday any neutral attending  wouldn't believe you if they were told that was a top flight game in Scotland

Admittedly it's not just us and Partick but Scottish football is in a shocking state, our home attendances are dropping alarmingly along with other bottom six clubs

As for the stewarding don't think anyone should be surprised by the reaction yesterday due to the pavement dancing in Elgin, only takes a few to spoil it and it effects everyone

The stewards always get a hard time on here but they were clearly being prompted by the club and the police yesterday 

It was a clear statement by the club regardless whether the group being targeted were innocent or not

Dougal

 

 

Edited January 29, 2017 by dougal

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Hang on a minute. Teams like Aberdeen and Mothewell have considerable experience fighting the drop. We have relatively little and from a motivational point of view we gained ground yesterday with a poor performance. We now focus on Hamilton and for either manager, a win will feel like an enormous boost. Potentially Hamilton have more to lose so may start more motivated - they have supporters boycotting the club, Canning is on a slightly worse run than ICT. It is difficult to imagine a second consecutive worse performance. So we all need to be positive about this game. Against Partick we eventually put out a solid back five. They all played well. The front six were out of sorts!! That does not mean that the six selected for Hamilton cannot take on a much better shape and will Billy likely to return we have another option. Boden is due to get some time and luck. Let us not go down the route chosen by the Hamilton supporters or indeed those of Kilmarnock. Steady as we go and focus wholeheartedly on not losing to Hamilton.

[Kingsmills]

10 hours ago, Caley Mad In Berks said:

I think we all knew that appointing Foran was a risk, but I also know that the financial constraints we work under probably made him the only viable option at the time.   But why a 3 year contract? Surely a 1 year rolling contract would have been more sensible.  And now we are seeing that his inexperience is a real problem for us.  These interviews he gives are cringeworthy.  Can he really be that naive?  He doesn't look the part, sound the part, or act the part of someone who knows what they are doing.  I fear the worst, and can only hope that I am wrong.

I think it's actually a four year contract. It was a poor performance and that was a worrying post match interview but, as I said earlier in the thread, I think it was a decent point and we still have an opportunity to get off the bottom on Tuesday.

I think that Foran still has a very great deal to learn but still has the potential to be a good manager for us. Don't forget that he had us playing successful and entertaining football in the League Cup group stage albeit against lower league opponents and was Manager of the Month after a successful league spell in September although that does seem a very long time ago now.

Where I think we did cut corners, probably for financial reasons, is in appointing Brian Rice as assistant manager. An inexperienced manager needs a wiley and experienced number two. I didn't think that Rice was a good appointment when he first came, I didn't think it was a good idea to retain him when Yogi left and I'm even less convinced that he is the right man for the job now.

[Robert]

Our recent record against Partick is very poor, with only one league win when there was little at stake at the end of last season, so a point can be seen as a positive in some ways.

Our recent records away to Hamilton and home to Dundee are pretty good, so let's back Richie and the players and hopefully help them two badly needed good results. 23 points in a week's time has to be the aim! Let's go for it!!

[IBM]

16 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

An inexperienced manager needs a wiley and experienced number two. I didn't think that Rice was a good appointment when he first came, I didn't think it was a good idea to retain him when Yogi left and I'm even less convinced that he is the right man for the job now.

I think that's our problem Richie is stuck with an assistant that was not his choice but we are stuck with him.

[+Gringo]

12 hours ago, Caley Mad In Berks said:

I think we all knew that appointing Foran was a risk, but I also know that the financial constraints we work under probably made him the only viable option at the time.   But why a 3 year contract? Surely a 1 year rolling contract would have been more sensible.  And now we are seeing that his inexperience is a real problem for us.  These interviews he gives are cringeworthy.  Can he really be that naive?  He doesn't look the part, sound the part, or act the part of someone who knows what they are doing.  I fear the worst, and can only hope that I am wrong.

I agree 100% with these views. I also hope I'm wrong but, with no win since October, it's difficult to see how RF can turn this around. Recent performances haven't given any hope from what I have read. Lets see what he can do this coming Tuesday down in Hamilton. Let us see his motivational skills in raising the spirits of a lack lustre team, let us see his attacking style of play, let us see how we can make more than two or three passes without giving the ball away, let us see another clean sheet and let us see goals going in at the right end. Somehow, I think my eyes will be closed and I won't see any of this

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

This is the time to believe we can get up to 10th place. After that we can revise our aspirations. However, here are some inspirational quotes to help us help the team:   https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/03/bill-shankly-quotes.html

 

[closed]

The positive from yesterday was the point and clean sheet. There were few defensive mishaps we got away with but maybe that's the break we've been missing. I get RF targeting top six if we aim too low and miss we'll be in the mire. We are needing some ugly wins on the board but it's not too late to get them.

[Kingsmills]

14 minutes ago, rebelwithoutaclue said:

The positive from yesterday was the point and clean sheet. There were few defensive mishaps we got away with but maybe that's the break we've been missing. I get RF targeting top six if we aim too low and miss we'll be in the mire. We are needing some ugly wins on the board but it's not too late to get them.

It's good to be ambitious but there is no point in aiming for or talking about top six any more. That ship has sailed for this season.

The battle is to avoid relegation and I still believe that's a battle we can win but we have to start turning things around now. This coming week is crucial. I think we need a minimum of 4 points from these two games. We may not be risking vertigo but the league will look a lot better from the 'height' of tenth place.